as top republicans have been silent. tragedy in western new york. a gunman lures firefighters into a deadly trap on christmas eve, shocking the nation. >> we're being shot at, multiple firemen down. multiple firemen shot. i am shot. i think he used an assault rifle. >> just days after the deadly shooting in newtown, connecticut, the fight over gun rights and mental health treatment rages on. getting nowhere fast, the winter storm system that spawned tornados across the south on christmas is now heading east, bringing with it blizzard conditions and travel misery for many. the highs and lows of 2012, a look back at some of the most memorable presidential moments of this election year. president obama and senate members will be here in washington tomorrow, but we'll be hearing crickets on the house floor. nbc news has learned the republican leadership has not given representatives the 48-hour notice to return to work, another sign of inaction

on the fiscal cliff front. joining me now for our daily fix, mr. jonathan capehart, msnbc contributor and "washington post" editorial writer. jonathan, we're just six days away, no indication from house republicans that they are going to come back any time soon. the leadership has gone mum on that. we know there's not been communication between boehner and mcconnell, obama and boehner. are you amazed with this short amount of time to go there seems to be no sense of urgency on either side? >> am i amazed, given what we went through with the debt ceiling, no, i'm not amazed. i think there are forces here in this town that would like for us, sure people would like for there to be a deal, but going over the cliff on january 1st when there's this notion where it's not really a cliff, it's a slope, it's a curb depending who you talk to, that you can repair the damage if you get a deal

done, you know, a few days after january 3rd. i think people feel like they can slow walk. as we saw last week when plan b failed, you know, speaker boehner said it's up to the white house and the democrats to come up with a deal. >> washing my hands with it. what's interesting is what you just touched on, conventional wisdom has grown now to it's a cliff, it's a cliff, we can't go off it, to we're okay for two to three weeks afterwards, the treasury can stay in place. do you think they want to gamble with that? if the stock market starts tanking, they are going to be in trouble. >> as we've seen with congress, they are willing to take that gamble. during one of the votes during the fiscal implosion in 2008, at first congress wouldn't vote for it. the market plunged 500, 700 points. sometimes congress needs to have that sort of come to jesus moment with the markets before they get anything done. >> it will be interesting to see if they can do it. in terms of other news going on in washington, we know chuck

hagel is getting pelted from the left and the right, man without a country. are you surprised that the obama administration hasn't stepped up the reference to sort of shield him a little bit, beings he's for all intents and purposes the nominee for the defense secretary? >> the administration has done everything they can. chuck hagel is like a man, who was like susan rice, not nominated for anything. susan rice took a pelting for a job she was not officially nominated for. chuck hagel is someone who hasn't been nominated for secretary of defense but is someone who is rumored to be that person. i think we saw an indication of what the administration was doing to, in a way to protect hagel, and i'm thinking of specifically the criticisms of hagel and what he had said during the whole "don't ask, don't tell" fight and things that -- i'm sorry, about the nomination of jim hormel to be ambassador to luxembourg back in

the '90s. he said the ambassador was openly aggressively homosexual. hagel took a pummelling for a few hours, few days, then miraculously, there was an apology from chuck hagel. there were phone calls from the white house to gay groups. >> seems to me it shows you the toughest place to be in washington right now is a moderate independent, especially if you're moving forward into the public light. both sides have at you. >> right, both sides. again, as we talk about all the time, the partisan nature of this town and particularly in the house is something that, you know, makes a chuck hagel, makes other people a bit of an endangered species. >> it's wild for all the talk, collective talk about how we want bipartisanship, the minute the leaders move forward they get eviscerated. jonathan capehart, thanks for being on the show, we appreciate it. joining me now to talk about

how the fiscal cliff will hurt cities across the nation, philadelphia mayor michael nutter. mr. mayor, thank you so much for being on the show. >> thank you, luke. >> obviously, you've been very outspoken about how the sequester could have the severe impact on budgets for cities around the country. talk about that a little bit. we're only six days away. are you surprised by the lack of action here in washington on the fiscal cliff considering the dire implications for a lot of budgets in cities around america? >> actually, look, i am surprised. been around the block just a couple times. i've seen different things in the past, but this is very serious business, and apparently some members of congress just don't get it. the -- you can call it whatever you want to call it, but certainly fiscal is in front of it and it's not good. taxes going up for all americans, not a good thing. significant, possibly devastating budget cuts coming

down to certainly state and local governments, not a good thing. and so this seemingly bad game of chicken, you know, this is not some schoolyard game here. this is about people's lives, it's about their livelihoods, it's about the future of cities, it's about programs that need the dollars to provide services that the citizens want and expect is lack of doing your job. and so congress, it seems to me, should be flying, literally, back into session to get things done. the marketplace will not reward this inactivity, but more importantly, the psychological confidence that citizens and the business community should have about the ability of congress and washington to actually get stuff done will, again, be shaken. it was mentioned, jonathan mentioned earlier, you mentioned

earlier summer of 2011, a useless debate about whether or not we should raise the debt ceiling, had been done 36 times, but we had to have an inane debate about that. now it's the fiscal cliff. and whether or not across the board cuts should be made to all kinds of services and programs because the super committee couldn't do what it was supposed to do. this doesn't help trying to put the country forward, put americans back to work, reestablish our prominence around the country and the world as the great nation we are. we need to see much more business and action out of washington. the cities require it, mayors need it, more importantly, americans are demanding it. >> something you'd like to see action on, mayors against illegal guns, there seems to be this push towards that. mr. biden has his own commission regarding it, but there is a worry amongst some folks once

time passes, once we get past the state of the union, this could fizzle out. knowing how much gun control has talked about -- >> not going to happen. >> why not? why is it going to stay a pertinent part of the conversation in the public going forward? >> i think the public has been shocked and their conscience has been put on the carpet here with this one, and the totality of newtown, aurora, tucson, a number of others, this just bizarre situation out of webster, new york, guy sets a fire, firefighters come and he basically tries to take target practice and picks off a number of them, killing two, injures another two, damaging other people's homes. i guess, you know, out of last week's bizarre press statement, it wasn't a press conference, i guess mr. lapierre would then say firefighters need to have armed guards go with them. i think it just shows that was a

completely dumbass idea from the start, the announcement last week. we need to ban assault weapons. we need to ban the high-capacity clips and magazines. we need serious background information, system upgrade. here's a person who killed his grandmother with a hammer. how he's even out of prison, i guess that's a whole separate story. how did he get the guns that he had? clearly, this is a person who never should have been -- he shouldn't have been able to buy a water pistol, let alone the weaponry that he had. and he was loaded up and ready to go and then, of course, as happens in about 75% of cases, he kills himself in the aftermath of it all. i mean, i think the american public has really had enough in that we're not going to allow what has happened in the past to go on. mayor bloomberg and mayors against illegal guns doing a fantastic job.

people need to demand a plan and cities all across america, certainly, need to join this fight. i'm very proud the u.s. conference of mayors, numerous mayors are signed on to this effort as well. >> michael nutter of philadelphia, we appreciate it. it really is the pairing of two unbelievable tragedies, the mental illness in western new york and this horrific tragedy. interesting to see -- >> i know you have to go, the fiscal cliff -- the fiscal cliff wants to cut money from mental health services. >> indeed. mr. michael nutter of philadelphia, we appreciate it. let's shift back to the fiscal cliff and the art of the possible with one of the lawmakers that will have to pass a vote if a deal is consummated, kay bailey hutchison, member of the appropriations committee and republican from texas, she joins me now. thanks so much for being on the program. >> thank you, luke. >> so we know now the ball is in the senate's court, emphasis is now on harry reid and mitch mcconnell. seems the house is not in session.

johnny isakson, your colleague from georgia said congress should pass the $250,000 and below deal because that's what's going to happen afterwards. do you think that should happen? >> i do not. i think $250,000 is too low a threshold. a lot of working people who are couples would exceed that. however, i talked to some of my democratic colleagues and they are saying maybe in the $400,000 or $500,000 category we could set a benchmark. i do think it is essential that we start talking about what amount can be passed on a bipartisan basis, because, you know, i'm one who believes you shouldn't tax anyone right now. i would have supported plan b. i think that we've got to come to some terms with the impact that this is going to have and remember the other parts of this, making the child tax credit permanent, the marriage

penalty relief permanent. these are things that go with any kind of a threshold that we hopefully could agree on. >> but you wouldn't take, for example, the only deal that was out there was the $250,000 or below, you would vote no? >> well, luke, i'm not going to make a commitment, because, you know, i don't know what else would be in it. i think we need to have some debt relief here. i think we need to address sequestration, and i think we need a reasonable amount that would still not have tax increases. i mean, i'd be for no one having a tax increase, but i know that i'm not in the majority in the united states senate, and so i just think we've got to sit down and hammer something out and see where can the democrats give in the senate, where can the republicans give in the house, and let's try to make something more reasonable. i think $250,000 is way too low. i'd go for no limits, but that's

not where we are right now. >> as a member of the senate, you have to work tomorrow, presumably on the fiscal cliff, should the house republicans, the leadership, call that body back into session? >> well, i think speaker boehner will be in on the negotiations, and he will know when something might go through the senate, and he will certainly call the house in time to address this. they are prepared to go back, but right now, the action is in the senate, and i know that we're all trying to come up with and talk to our colleagues about some kind of way to avoid this massive increase in taxes that would occur if we don't act. and the things that are going on beneath the surface, i think, are important in the senate side, and i know the speaker will call them back when it's necessary. >> on a different issue, you're from a border state, you're, obviously, retiring soon. immigration, it's something that your party tried to accomplish under george w. bush, was not

able to. as someone who can sort of speak freely about it, what's going to need to happen -- what's going to need to be seen from republicans and democrats for that to move forward in any substantial way in 2013? >> well, we need to make it a major issue. that's for sure. we need border security, we need a guest worker program so that people can come here legally and be able to work, and i think that there are several issues that have to be addressed. certainly, the young people who have come here illegally need some way to get into a program, because they have college educations many of them. they certainly have high school educations, and they need to be able to have some kind of legal status that allows them at least to work until they can decide if they want to do something -- go back to their home country or stay here and work in a legal way, so i think there are ways

that we can take a little bit at a time. i think border security is high on everyone's agenda, as is some kind of guest worker program. so i think that it is a priority. i have been in on many of the discussions, and it's a hard issue, but it's one that has to be addressed. we got several hard issues right now, luke. >> i'm sure you'll be playing a role on the outside when your senate term expires on immigration. senator kay bailey hutchison, thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate it. >> thank you, luke. mark your calendars, south carolina is the place to be in 2014. get those reservations. three marquee races in a state that's known for nasty politicking. we can't wait. your palmetto preview is next. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. treatment as prilosec otc. now with a fancy coating that gives you a burst of wildberry flavor. now why make a flavored heartburn pill?

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next year and into 2014, some of the hottest political races and players to watch will be in the palmetto state, south carolina. former chair of the south carolina republican party joins me now. mr. dawson, thank you so much for being on the program. >> luke, glad to be with you. >> let's talk 2014, tim scott in the running and that pretty much, i would assume, means lindsey graham should be okay from a real challenge on the right. hour lindsey graham senate prospects right now in 2014? >> '02 and reelected in '08, lindsey is a good, tough politician, but just like you and your dad both have been here a lot, this is never a dull or boring place and it's pretty sporty. they'll run somebody against graham, there will be outside money, but he'll fair very well, get reelected, then having the

other race up with tim scott is certainly a seed. as you know, we don't replace senators a lot in south carolina. >> no, not at all. do you think scott can have a real sort of king maker power in 2016 with the presidential primaries? will he rise to that level where he'll be one of the top three sought-after endorsements in south carolina? >> tim's a pretty cagey politician, he's smart, he's street savvy and certainly his endorsement and senator graham's will matter, being an early presidential state, us having an open seat for president, it will be very important. but we have a lot of republicans here that -- nikki haley's endorsement will be important. we'll see when that happens. certainly, what he says matters. >> let's talk about nikki haley. she gets a lot of press, but her poll numbers are not outstanding in her state. she's going to have to face

again, what's the chance nikki haley could lose, is that a narrative we can start writing now? >> anybody can lose in south carolina. what people don't realize is there's not a base in south carolina republicans that's big enough to win a general election. it's 11 points ahead of the democrats' base. so it's a voter we've had here for decades and decades in south carolina that names the winners. with that being said, we've obviously been very successful in south carolina attracting that voter in the general election, but that always makes it dicey. i do see nikki having a fairly easy path towards, certainly, the renomination and election, but nothing in politics is ever easy. it's why it's one of the most interesting political states in the country. >> and last but not least, mark sanford, someone who got a ton of media attention, much to your chagrin a few year s back. what are the chances he'd make a bid for congress and run against his wife, what is the sanford

political future here? >> mark sanford is not the first politician to start dating in office and be married at the same time and also become politically successful. mark is going to get in the race, jenni is not. jenni is doing private business consulting. she lives a comfortable wife and was a wonderful first lady and good person. you're not going to see that matchup, but you will see a matchup in the only open congressional seat in 2014 to be able to test the organizations, but i think mark's trying to make a political comeback, get a job, and let's see. but that painful to fuful tox s going to be tough to get over, but the name bill clinton comes to mind when you look at successful politicians remaking themselves. >> katon dawson, south carolina, appreciate it so much. see you at the silver dollar in charleston, my friend. >> absolutely, thank you, luke.

next, brand new information about what house republicans will be doing tomorrow. plus, the bitter battle of president obama's second-term cabinet. you don't even have to be a nominee to be scoured these days. politico briefing is next, jake sherman, don't want to miss that. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. the president cannot -- this white house cannot continue to float trial balloons and then not have them shot down. the president can't get perceived to being rolled by opponents. the problem that chuck hagel has, who has a lot of support in the foreign policy community, is that he's now getting shot at from the left and the right. >> like steve perry's voice never leaves journey, andrea mitche mitchell's presence never leaves. under fire before nominations are even announced. joining me now, politico's jake sherman.

you heard from the great woman herself, andrea mitchell, they can't keep putting out trial balloons. what's the white house doing right now on hagel and can they save him? >> i think the problem for him is he has no constituency. >> georgetown professor, yeah. >> i'm not sure what his path is through the senate, and is this a fight the president wants to have in the beginning of 2013 when he has the fiscal cliff, government funding, debt ceiling, taxes, all these issues out there where he's going to have to fight tooth and nail, does he want to fight on chuck hagel and that's something to be seen. >> i want to turn our attention to the fiscal cliff, because you have some interesting reporting coming out right now. gop leaders had a phone call today. >> they are talking on a conference call, which is how they usually communicate when they are not in d.c., but they are strategizing on what to do. the open question right now for house republicans is do they bring the body back into session from between now and new year's

eve? unclear, i don't know if they know what they are going to do. they told their members they'd get 48 hours notice, 48 hours notice now would put us somewhere between friday and saturday, going right into new year's eve. >> there's nothing to bring them back for. >> that's the problem, that's the problem. they said the senate is going to act first. the senate is not acting right now. they are doing a supplemental spending bill for hurricane sandy, they are upsiding the surveillance bill, they are not doing anything on the fiscal cliff. is it helpful to have john boehner have his members back in d.c. running their mouths and offering opinions to all us reporters, i think the answer is no. >> no inclination the $250,000 or below can pass through the senate right now, kay bailey hutchison said she wouldn't support that type of bill. what's harry reid left to do right now? >> i'm not sure $250,000 could get through the house or senate at this point. republicans are signaling, as kay bailey hutchison just did, they want to move to $500,000.

i think that would be a tough lift considering president obama offered $400,000 with $2 trillion in deficit reduction. >> from where you sit right now, i mean, you're so into the house gop, jake, i'm surprised you didn't end up in boehner's suitcase, we look like we're going over. >> it looks like that's the case and that's what gop aides are telling us today, it's very difficult and democrats are saying this too, it's difficult to see a way we avert the fiscal cliff at this point with how slow the senate operates, no plan right now, house is nowhere, and it's almost january. >> highway to the danger zone, jake sherman, politico, thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate it. developing news on president george h.w. bush's health. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. we've all had those moments.

when you lost the thing you can't believe you lost. when what you just bought, just broke. or when you have a little trouble a long way from home... as an american express cardmember you can expect some help. but what you might not expect, is you can get all this with a prepaid card. spends like cash. feels like membership. and developing news on a story we've been following here for days args spokesman for

former president george h.w. bush is telling nbc news doctors have seen a, quote, slight improvement in his condition. this morning, joining me from houston on the latest on the 41st president's health. little bit of good news, charles. >> reporter: certainly is, luke, i spoke with a spokesman for the bush family that doctors are seeing a slight improvement, his fever is now gone, but the 88-year-old former president remains at methodist hospital here in houston, where he's been before thanksgiving, suffering from a chronic cough. doctors remain cautiously optimistic that he will make a recovery, despite the recent setback of fever and weakness. he is getting a lot of family support, though. barbara bush visits twice a day. yesterday neil bush and his family visited for christmas, and they brought with them chinese food. apparently, it's a bush family tradition to visit their favorite chinese restaurant in houston on christmas day.

yesterday, the chinese food was brought to them. former president george w. bush and his brother, former governor of florida, have visited their father in recent weeks. their sister dora is visiting their father today. despite the recent good news, there's no talk when the former president will get to go home. >> charles hadlock from houston, thank you so much for your update. >> reporter: sure. topping the headlines on "andrea mitchell reports." in afghanistan today, at least three civilians were killed after a suicide bomber detonated explosives at the gate of a u.s. military gate in khost province. taliban claimed responsibility. hawaii's governor is expected to announce a replacement for late daniel inouye. today, the democratic party listed three finalists. senator inouye's dying wish was for her to take his place in the senate. the winter storm that hit

the middle of the country on christmas day is now spreading east, causing up to 19 tornados, that was a potential christmas day record. the storm is also causing massive flight delays and cancellations. at least 1,176 since yesterday morning, and that number is expected to grow throughout the day. the airports most effected by cancellations, indianapolis, dallas-fort worth, chicago o'hare and washington dulles. the dow has closed reflecting the uncertainty with six days to go before potentially devastating impacts to an already fragile economy. joining me now from new york, congressman jerry natter. thank you so much for being on the program. >> it's a pleasure. >> how much of a worry is there amongst your constituents there in new york city that going over the cliff could send the financial markets into a total tail spin? >> well, i don't think the financial markets is going to be

a total tail spin. they've understood for a while we could not solve the problem before the new year and i think they've also understood it's not a cliff, it's more like a slope. the problem, of course, is that with huge spending cuts and tax hikes, you could send the economy into recession and that is true if that keeps up for a while, if congress, for instance, on january 20th, let's say, repeals the tax hikes retroactively to january 1st and restores the spending, i don't think there's any great impact. the market will readjust and you have some flexibility. but not too much. you've got to solve this problem in a few weeks. i don't think it's magic about january 1st. >> so it's fair to say the lack of urgency right now from washington is because many folks think like you, there's not a need to have this, you can wait until the 20th? >> no, i made up the number the 20th, could be the 15th.

i think they are stymied, frankly. republicans in the house show they are unwilling to do anything, to say they won't pass a tax relief for everyone under $1 million unless you give a relief to those over $1 million is, first of all, stupid economically, but second of all, no one's going to agree to that. i think the republicans don't know how to proceed, because the house republicans have shown they are in an impossible situation. >> another issue that's very pertinent with you, congressman, is gun control. you've been very outspoken after the tragedy in newtown, connecticut, about the need for further regulation, as well as this recent tragedy in western new york. give me your political assessment of how likely we are to actually see something substantiative come out of the house representatives. we hear gun control over the media air waves right now, but you know how hard it would be for house speaker john boehner to take something up as a

free-standing piece of legislation. do you think that joe biden's commission can deliver and anybody would look at it on the house floor? >> well, i think it's up to basically how much pressure is brought to bear on the republicans. i mean, we know how to stop the carnage with another mass murder every few months and that's reasonable restrictions on semiautomatic weapons, large-capacity magazines and so forth. no other country in the world has the kind of murder rate we do, and it's because of the guns. now, the republicans are basically, most of them, are beholden to the national rifle association, which doesn't represent sportsmen, it's the lobby for the gun manufacturers and they don't care how many people get killed. but the senate shows it can pass it and massive public pressure on the house, then i think there's a fair shot. without the massive public pressure after the senate passes it and the biden commission

comes up with those recommendations, without that massive public pressure, the republicans are going to continue to the enablers of violence, namely the nra, which simply represents the gun manufacturers, which are really the merchants of death, to use a phrase from an earlier era. >> congressman jerry nadler of new york, thank you so much for being on the program. we appreciate it. >> thank you. now to what congress will do the rest of this week, including the cliff negotiations. i'm joined by jonathan weissman of the new york times, great reporter, my colleague on the hill, thank you so much for being here. back to the cliff and guns on nadler, sherman was here saying there is some talk amongst leadership, but i keep beating this like a drum, doesn't seem to be any urgency on capitol hill. >> i was talking to some senators this morning, when are you going to get back into town? oh, you know, maybe tomorrow night we'll kind of come in. president obama will be coming in tomorrow night.

doesn't seem the level of urgency that you would think, given that in five, six days these things are going to hit. and i think it's because they really -- i think there's a sense now that if this deal gets done, it gets done in the new year. it's not going to get done in the next four or five days. >> is it correct to say the prevailing idea amongst republicans is, look, why don't we just go over this cliff and then we don't have to have our hands attached to any type of tax increase, and there's been that talk of it all along. >> that's right, in fact, patty murray, democratic senator, gave a speech two months ago saying, well, you know what, if we take the vote on january 4th, anything we put up is going to be a tax cut and people don't have to worry about their pledge to grover norquist or americans for tax reform, they will have a tax cut. i think people have been thinking all along that really if push comes to shove, we'll do it in the new year and that seems to be what's developing.

>> it creates an interesting dynamic, you'd have a new congress sworn in on january 3rd and ordinarily everyone goes home, get your picture taken, that's it. you're essentially swearing in a new congress and moving to the floor. that's something we haven't seen in quite a while, i'd say in the modern era. >> one of the odd things on the first day is elect a speaker. the majority party puts up -- this time it would be john boehner. the minority puts up their chosen leader, this time nancy pelosi. it's usually pro forma, but this time it has a real weight to it, because one of the reasons we're in this situation right now is because we're waiting for john boehner to be reelected to speaker of the house before they make a move, because only if 16 or 17 republicans don't vote for the guy, he could lose. they just want to wait. >> that's, i think, a point we've all been missing here is that after plan b's gone down, there seems to be some thinking,

especially in boehner land, that we don't want our fingerprints on anything that could lead to some sort of conservative ensue su sure. >> it would be very embarra embarrassing. republicans voting for someone else or abstaining, they would have to probably shut the whole house down, have a whole meeting, drum up the votes. it would be very embarrassing and i think you're also seeing it on the senate side, mitch mcconnell is thinking, senate minority leader, if john boehner doesn't want his fingerprints on something, why do i want my fingerprints on it, i'm up for reelection in 2014. >> the amazing subplot of this entire ordeal is the lack of, shall we say, responsibility. let's wipe our hands of it and get hit the next year we don't have to have any accountability for it. >> you would say maybe they are

not showing a particularly great political courage here, but they'd say, look, it's only a few days away, right? give us a little break, give us a little breathing room. we'll come back, week and a half, get a done deal. >> fascinating, fascinating developments. so different from where we were last week. jonathan weissman, new york times, thank you so much for coming in the day after christmas and bringing your parents here. they are right here, they flew in, braved the weather, good to see them. what a long, strange trip it's been, the highs and lows from the president's year, that's next on "andrea mitchell reports." don't go anywhere. [ male announcer ] how do you measure happiness? by the armful? by the barrelful? the carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

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for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think same-sex

couples should be able to get married. >> 2012 was a pivotal year for president obama and the last campaign of his political career made for plenty of memorable moments. joining me for a look back at the presidential highs and lows of 2012, usa today's david jackson. good afternoon, rather, how are you? >> good afternoon, luke, thanks for having me. >> so what do you say are some of the biggest moments of the year? i would say supporting same-sex marriage was certainly very significant, the immigration executive order he signed, which were two politically expedient, albeit controversial issues, that he took head on. >> that's right, we just saw one of the most famous moments was the gay marriage declaration, which was kind of an accident, if you recall. vice president biden went on a sunday show and expressed his support and the white house felt increased pressure and decided to move up president obama's own announcement to a few days after.

the rollout wasn't what the white house wanted but something they'd been thinking about for a long time. the immigration issue, presidents who face opposition in congress often resort to executive actions. obama even had a program for it called "we can't wait." the most famous "we can't wait" provision was on immigration, where he basically stopped the deportation on young hispanic people brought her as immigrants as children. that's, as you know, the fastest-growing voting population in the country. >> and quite possibly could have delivered him the state of florida. let's talk about some other interesting issues, highs and lows of the campaign, that happened within a month of each other, the first would be a low, that first debate, a lot of folks thought mitt romney was tipping the scales after that night in denver. >> well, astonishing, several things were going on there, i don't think president obama likes these debates. i don't think he really respected governor romney at that point, probably thought he might have been a bit of a lightweight, also a feeling president obama wanted to feel

presidential and above it all and all those things combined for a horrific performance, even his aides would admit that and he would admit that at this point. it put romney back in the race when many of us thought he might be a goner. >> just a few short weeks later hurricane sandy hit and president obama had an opportunity to appear with new jersey governor chris christie, sort of certifying a bipartisan image before the election which a lot of people thought tipped the scales back to him. >> certainly a break for the election, sandy hit the northeast. it's always good for presidents to appear presidential, to appear to be doing things. to have that happen a week out of the election was certainly an advantage. probably lost votes in the northeast states because people couldn't get to the polls, but i can't help think it was an advantage, if only to stop momentum romney had going into the last week. >> and some of my favorite im e images was when the president

was picked up by the peaches shop owner in florida. no secret service around, where were they? also the record-setting victory tweet with michelle obama, that famous photograph on the cover of "the economist," two images that got so much play on social media. >> it was amazing. the famous hugging incident at the peaches shop happened in charlotte, after the convention, president obama came after that feeling very happy and obviously one of his fans in florida was also very happy. the secret service, they had their eyes wide at that event. looked like a friendly guy, nobody was going to interrupt it and turned out to be one of the great photo opportunities of all time. the hug went out after election night after we knew obama had won picture of the two of them hugging. retweeted more than a million times. it's a social media landmark. >> unbelievable. thank you so much for joining us.

we appreciate it. >> thank you, sir. >> what political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next. coming back. start and finish with jonathan cape hart. doesn't get better than that.

>> which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? jonathan cape hart is back with us. what are the stories? some work might start on the fiscal cliff? one can only hope the president comes back. we are assuming the house and the senate will be milling about. you will know this better than i. then the other story we might be talking about is whoever governor neal abercrombie of hawaii might select to fill the senate seat to be selected by daniel inouye. >> there is a rush ta to that so the senator can participate in

the fiscal cliff votes. that could be an important vote. >> it will definitely be an important vote. the reason i brought it up is twitter being what it is, representative-elect told them, just got elected, 32-year-old combat veteran what has not taken her seat yet got an endorsement from cal penn to be the person selected to take senator inouye's seat. >> she can be an answer to a trivia question. who is a representative-elect and never served a day in office and became senator. that's incredible. some day. jonathan, thank you so much. we appreciate that. that does it for this edition of andr"andrea mitchell reports." my colleague has a look at what's next on "news nation." what do you have, my friend. it never gets old. we miss you here. >> we miss being in d.c. happy holidays. in a few hours, president obama

will be leaving highway high early. he will be heading back to the fiscal cliff gridlock in d.c. house speaker john boehner has not called members back to the house in d.c. yet. just days ago he looked to avoid a fiscal cliff. will a deal get done? a newspaper under heavy criticism now for publishing the names of local gun permit legal local gun permit holders online. details on that are next on n "news nation." e reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help

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